5 qualities which make you fail at school but succeed in life - Faysal Hafidi - TEDxCasablanca
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0:18 - 0:20I've got a question for you.
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0:20 - 0:27Which of you was always top of the class?
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0:31 - 0:35All your life, top of the class?
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0:35 - 0:36Right.
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0:36 - 0:39--Liar (Laughter)
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0:39 - 0:46Well, in precisely 9 minutes and 30 seconds,
I'm going to make you proud -
0:46 - 0:49that you weren't always top of the class.
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0:49 - 0:54(Applause)
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0:54 - 1:00You're going to go home tonight
and tell your partner, your children, -
1:00 - 1:02your friends and relatives:
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1:02 - 1:08"Hallelujah, thank God, I wasn't always top of my class!"
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1:09 - 1:16In 2007, when I started my blog, I began studying
the lives of several people -
1:16 - 1:19who were successful in their lives.
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1:24 - 1:28And each of them was successful in their field,
each one succeeded in a different way. -
1:28 - 1:33But there was one thing all these people shared,
just one thing -
1:33 - 1:38which intrigued me, and this was the fact
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1:38 - 1:47that these people, these characters --
none of them had been really successful at school. -
1:47 - 1:54And some of them had even cut short their education
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1:54 - 1:57and others didn't even make it to school
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1:57 - 2:00for long periods of time.
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2:00 - 2:03So this was a little worrying and frustrating for me
when I remembered -
2:03 - 2:08all those years in which parents and teachers
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2:08 - 2:11told us, you must work hard, you must get the best marks,
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2:11 - 2:17you must be one of the best
to get into the best higher education establishments -
2:18 - 2:22and in the end, I note that the reality is this:
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2:22 - 2:25all those who have been successful at the school of life
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2:25 - 2:29were not necessarily those who were top of the class.
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2:29 - 2:32So this meant we needed an answer to the following question:
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2:32 - 2:40Why isn't it necessary to succeed at school in order to be successful in life?
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2:40 - 2:47Or even: why is there no direct link between success at school
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2:47 - 2:50and success in life?
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2:50 - 2:54Because, to mention people you know very well,
such as Steve Jobs -
2:54 - 2:59or Bill Gates who have businesses -
they employ people who were top of the class. -
2:59 - 3:01But when did they leave school?
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3:01 - 3:03They both dropped out
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3:03 - 3:07during their fresher year at university.
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3:07 - 3:11So how come, then, that we, who try to be top of the class
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3:11 - 3:15end up working in businesses for people who
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3:15 - 3:19perhaps don't even know how to read and write?
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3:20 - 3:23So that's when I started looking, and luckily
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3:23 - 3:29I took the right approach right from the start, so I couldn't - or I didn't have to - look very hard.
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3:29 - 3:33I started looking by identifying the qualities these people share
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3:33 - 3:37which have allowed them to be successful in life.
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3:37 - 3:40And I found 5 of these.
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3:40 - 3:44Next, I tried to see these qualities in the education system
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3:44 - 3:48all over the world, how are these qualities developed?
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3:48 - 3:53Or at least appreciated or accommodated in the education system?
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3:53 - 3:58And I was shocked to find I had discovered that these qualities --
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3:58 - 4:03not only are they not developed within the education system,
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4:03 - 4:07but they are even punished in the education system.
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4:07 - 4:12In other words, if you are unlucky enough to possess one or even several of these qualities
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4:12 - 4:17you can be absolutely sure that you will be unable to succeed in the education system.
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4:17 - 4:23And when you get to the workplace, you will be needing these qualities.
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4:23 - 4:29So the first of these qualities is about being passionate.
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4:29 - 4:31Just imagine this discussion with Einstein:
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4:31 - 4:33you meet Einstein and you say to him:
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4:33 - 4:36"Now, Einstein, it seems that you love physics, right?"
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4:36 - 4:41And he says to you: "No, I hate physics.
You know, I'm only doing physics -
4:41 - 4:44because my parents made me do it.
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4:44 - 4:47I hate it...but hey, Hamdullah, I've been lucky,
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4:47 - 4:52I've discovered a few theories, got a Nobel prize, and all that...well, I've been lucky."
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4:52 - 4:56Or it could be that you could talk to Bill Gates, and so you say to him:
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4:56 - 4:59"So, Bill Gates, it seems that you're turned on by computers?"
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4:59 - 5:03And he says: "Nah, it's just destiny that pushed me to get into computers.
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5:03 - 5:06Well Hamdullah, it's really taken off!"
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5:06 - 5:08Can you imagine this type of discussion?
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5:08 - 5:12It's impossible because we know that these people are passionately enthusiastic.
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5:12 - 5:14So, what is passion?
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5:14 - 5:18Passion means having an emotional and sentimental approach
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5:18 - 5:20to a job.
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5:20 - 5:24And if you are unfortunate enough to have this quality as school, you are going to fall in love
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5:24 - 5:28with certain subjects, and you will work hard on those.
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5:28 - 5:31And you'll hate the other subjects, and you won't work as hard on them.
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5:31 - 5:37And as soon as you get to secondary school, you'll discover what we call the subject weightings.
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5:37 - 5:40The subject weightings - the head will never come to you at the beginning of the year and say:
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5:40 - 5:43"So, what do you like? You like maths? Ah! Let's raise its weighting.
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5:43 - 5:47You don't like physics? We'll bring it down."
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5:47 - 5:49It will never ever happen like that.
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5:49 - 5:50The weighting is already set.
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5:50 - 5:55If you're good at maths, physics and languages, we take the highest weighting.
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5:55 - 5:59If you like geography and history, and you work hard at those but you hate maths
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5:59 - 6:05then you'll never get a good mark, or never the top mark, in the exam.
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6:05 - 6:08Which means you'll be hearing this sort of thing all the time:
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6:08 - 6:13"He's a hard worker, in certain subjects, he really is very, very good.
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6:13 - 6:16But in other subjects, he really could do better."
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6:16 - 6:22That's what they're passionate about at school: it's someone who could always do better.
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6:22 - 6:26And that's why those at the top of the class have no feelings.
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6:26 - 6:30They have no passion. They work at everything!
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6:30 - 6:32They work hard in every subject!
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6:32 - 6:36And they are good at all the subjects.
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6:36 - 6:38And this creates a big problem for those at the top of the class.
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6:38 - 6:42Because later on, they can apply to study medicine, law, and accountancy.
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6:42 - 6:46They can do it all.
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6:46 - 6:48At the outset, they are impressed by their abilities.
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6:48 - 6:51But later, when you get to work, they'll say to you:
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6:51 - 6:52"No, no, no: Stop!"
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6:52 - 6:56If you want to succeed, there are two things that are very important, primordial in life.
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6:56 - 7:05If you want to achieve happiness and excellence, you must be passionate about what you do.
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7:05 - 7:11But without passion, you can't succeed at work, nor even in your personal life.
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7:11 - 7:15Yet at school, we've always been forced to take compulsory subjects, rather than follow our passion.
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7:15 - 7:19Second quality: curiosity.
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7:19 - 7:25Curiosity is the foundation of all discovery.
It's curiosity that allows each of us -
7:25 - 7:28to discover solutions to everyday problems.
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7:28 - 7:32So -- how does curiosity manifest itself at school?
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7:32 - 7:38A curious pupil or student is someone
who seeks to know more. -
7:38 - 7:43Such a student is more likely to read what is suggested in class, to carry out their own research,
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7:43 - 7:48to discover new ways of solving mathematical problems.
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7:48 - 7:53And because this student is very proud of what they do,
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7:53 - 7:59they are happy to have learned a lot, and will try
to develop their own ideas in the exam. -
8:00 - 8:05And if the teacher doesn't understand
what you are talking about, -
8:05 - 8:10you work really hard, you put in more energy
than anyone else, -
8:10 - 8:15you hand in a really great, highly developed paper,
your teacher doesn't get it, -
8:15 - 8:22and awards you a shockingly low mark,
often accompanied by the remark: Off Topic. -
8:22 - 8:29This is why, in the education system,
being top doesn't mean you are smart. -
8:29 - 8:31In the education system, the fact of being top
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8:31 - 8:36just means you have the ability to cram information
and then to regurgitate it -
8:36 - 8:40just as it was, without developing it at all.
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8:40 - 8:44And then when you get to the world of work,
you'll be told that no, -
8:44 - 8:49to be able to get the third ingredient of success,
which is promotion at work, -
8:49 - 8:54each time you have to learn, train yourself,
look further, know more, -
8:54 - 8:59never settle for the information you were given at school.
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8:59 - 9:04And you know what the difference is,
between these people who didn't pass, -
9:04 - 9:08or who didn't complete their education system,
in comparison with those who did graduate? -
9:08 - 9:11One small difference which changes life.
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9:11 - 9:16In fact, those who didn't graduate and who become entrepreneurs, heads of state,
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9:16 - 9:23or who take on big projects, they often have
this worry about not having known enough. -
9:23 - 9:27So they are constantly searching,
they are real self-starters. -
9:27 - 9:32Unlike those who sat at the top of the class and who,
once they've got their qualification, get gifts -
9:32 - 9:36and they say to themselves: "I've finished my studies."
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9:36 - 9:39And this is where the catastrophe lies.
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9:39 - 9:43Third quality: being goal-oriented.
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9:43 - 9:47Peter Drucker, the father of management,
taught us that ultimately, within companies, -
9:47 - 9:51it is essential to have annual, considered, goals.
It isn't a matter of achieving high performance and being effective -
9:51 - 9:56in the absolute, you have to be effective and high-performing in order to achieve your objectives.
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9:56 - 10:00Which is, incidentally, very intelligent, as well as being what the whole planet is currently following
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10:00 - 10:03as a managerial style.
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10:03 - 10:08Imagine a pupil who has the same state of mind, and is also very intelligent.
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10:08 - 10:11This pupil is thinking about which job they would like to do.
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10:11 - 10:13Which career they'd like to pursue.
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10:13 - 10:18They look back on their time at school, deciding which marks they want to get,
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10:18 - 10:20what sort of work they want to do, what work they can do
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10:20 - 10:24in order to get where they want to be.
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10:24 - 10:31So you say to him or her: "Why don't you do enough work? Why don't you try to be the best in the class?"
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10:31 - 10:39And they say to you: "But it's not necessary. Being top of the class doesn't meet my objectives."
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10:39 - 10:44And then it will be said of that pupil by the school, that they lack commitment.
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10:44 - 10:51Pupils who have visibility, vision at school, are non-committed pupils.
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10:51 - 10:57So the school rewards just the act of mixing objective and tool.
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10:57 - 11:00And it rewards the tool, which is the mark.
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11:00 - 11:03It never rewards pupils who at the end of the year come to say:
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11:03 - 11:05"Here are my plans for a career. This is what I intend to do."
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11:05 - 11:11And here is the necessary energy which I will deploy
to achieve this objective. -
11:11 - 11:14And I will spend the rest of the time playing,
because I want to play." -
11:14 - 11:17And this is what is never rewarded at school.
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11:17 - 11:23The fourth quality is creativity.
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11:23 - 11:27Creativity is fundamental - and yet it's the very first
thing they take away from you at school. -
11:27 - 11:31A study has shown - I'm not sure of the figures -
but it showed -
11:31 - 11:39that about 92% of the most creative people
in the world are less than 5 years old. -
11:39 - 11:437% or 8% of creative people are over 5.
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11:43 - 11:45So what happened?
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11:45 - 11:47School happened.
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11:47 - 11:53School prevents the pupil or the child from thinking
as they are used to doing, -
11:53 - 11:57working as they are used to working or learning.
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11:57 - 12:02Now it has to be done in just one way, saying what has
to be said, thinking in just one way -
12:02 - 12:06and drawing in just one way.
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12:06 - 12:10There are lines that must not be crossed at school.
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12:10 - 12:15And so later on, in a working life, people say to you:
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12:15 - 12:20"No, you have to be creative, innovation, you must bring something new."
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12:20 - 12:22Even though at school, we have been taught the opposite.
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12:22 - 12:25You've got a sheet of paper.
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12:25 - 12:26You've got a blank sheet of paper.
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12:26 - 12:32I'll just ask you to spend 10 seconds, quickly,
turning it into a flying object capable of flying -
12:32 - 12:34as effectively as possible.
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12:34 - 12:3610 seconds! The countdown has started.
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12:36 - 12:38Quick, quick, quick...
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12:38 - 12:42A flying object which can fly as effectively as possible.
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12:53 - 12:57Very good. Launch your planes, your flying objects.
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12:57 - 12:59Yes, that's great.
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12:59 - 13:03People will say they didn't like my talk.
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13:03 - 13:09Okay. I note that people have done that.
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13:09 - 13:11Did I say make a plane?
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13:11 - 13:12No!
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13:12 - 13:18No, I said to make a flying object that can fly as effectively as possible.
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13:18 - 13:22But this flies better than that.
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13:22 - 13:28In other words school has prevented you from really thinking in a creative way.
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13:28 - 13:30How is creativity seen at school?
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13:30 - 13:35It's someone who draws.
It's someone who always asks weird questions at school. -
13:35 - 13:39It's someone who's always at the back,
it's someone who likes to address matters -
13:39 - 13:42that the teacher hasn't addressed.
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13:42 - 13:48So it's someone who is often distracted.
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13:48 - 13:54And this is why those at the top of the class
always control their creativity. -
13:54 - 13:59And to be top of the class, you have to
kill your own creativity in the education system. -
13:59 - 14:04The final quality is being sociable.
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14:04 - 14:09The act of being sociable is typified at school by excessive chattering.
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14:09 - 14:16A pupil who is sociable, whose intelligence is sociable, cannot work all alone
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14:16 - 14:18and look at the teacher for a whole hour.
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14:18 - 14:24That pupil needs a certain ambience, needs to talk, needs to seek out the others beside them.
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14:24 - 14:31Because the absence of sociability is, for that pupil, a risk, an emptiness, that is unbearable.
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14:31 - 14:38And the worst thing of all is that at school,
those who are most sociable cheat in the exams. -
14:38 - 14:41Why?
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14:41 - 14:44Not because they want to cheat or because they have no morals.
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14:44 - 14:51It's because for them, it's a nice gesture to be sociable
even during exams. -
14:51 - 14:57They are unable to solve a problem all alone.
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14:57 - 15:01Sometimes, and we've noticed this many times,
pupils finish their exam -
15:01 - 15:06and then they wait to see if there are
any friends in need of help. -
15:06 - 15:12They say to the others: "Do you need help?"
(Applause) -
15:12 - 15:17And unfortunately, this is why today we do team building,
synergy, and so on... -
15:17 - 15:19And it is also why it doesn't work.
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15:19 - 15:26Because for years, the school has confused two notions:
at school, synergy equals cheating. -
15:26 - 15:31Whereas it is in fact pure team building.
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15:32 - 15:41Once, a teacher caught me
passing my work to a classmate. -
15:41 - 15:45And I tried to explain to the teacher, back then,
that I was forced to cheat. -
15:45 - 15:47He said: "No, that's not good, you mustn't do it."
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15:47 - 15:52But I said: "But it's a friend. I can't say no to him."
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15:52 - 15:56He told me no: "I don't care, in the exam,
you have to solve your problem all alone." -
15:56 - 16:01I told him: "But you don't understand,
I can't sacrifice this friendship." -
16:01 - 16:03He said: "Not even if it gets you a zero?"
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16:03 - 16:10I said: "Yes, even if I get a zero. He's a friend.
And I can't sacrifice my reputation either." -
16:10 - 16:16It's very important for anyone who is socially intelligent,
who is in possession of social reasoning. -
16:16 - 16:21And later on, in a working life, you are told:
"You must do the opposite, you must never work alone." -
16:21 - 16:26You have to contribute to the others, you have to give the others what you know. Maintain your reputation.
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16:26 - 16:30So throughout your school careeer,
you're prevented from doing this. -
16:30 - 16:36This is why nobody like those who are top of the class.
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16:36 - 16:39(Applause)
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16:39 - 16:44This is why those who are top of the class
have such difficulty integrating into the class. -
16:44 - 16:50And this is why those who are top of the class
are always unhappy. -
16:50 - 16:55And this is why, the higher you climb in the company,
the more team building you need to do. -
16:55 - 16:59Because the more these people are intelligent
and best in he class, the more used they are -
16:59 - 17:03to working alone - and the more likely they are to be at war with themselves.
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17:03 - 17:06Why am I talking about all this?
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17:06 - 17:07For one very, very important reason.
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17:07 - 17:12Now, we are all familiar with all of these qualities,
and we know that ultimately, -
17:12 - 17:14perhaps it's not so important in a school career.
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17:14 - 17:20But what is very, very dangerous as well as very important,
is that when you are not successful at school, -
17:20 - 17:28you are condemned, each year, to sitting on a bench
and applauding these classmates, -
17:28 - 17:33all the time hating them
because they've got prizes, and I haven't. -
17:33 - 17:38And what's worst of all is that after a few years,
all those who aren't top of the class -
17:38 - 17:43applaud these people all the time, all the time.
And they end up with the idea -
17:43 - 17:49that ultimately, success isn't for me,
perhaps I will never be successful in life. -
17:49 - 17:56Success is for others, it's for strange people
who never help their friends, who aren't liked. -
17:56 - 18:00That's what success is. Sometimes, we are even afraid of success.
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18:00 - 18:06Because success is people who are too cold, too closed,
and I end up putting myself among the failures. -
18:06 - 18:10And all this changes as soon as I have my first interviews
for joining a company, -
18:10 - 18:16when I join a company, that's it, I've taken on the idea,
I'm convinced that I am incapable of success -
18:16 - 18:22because for all these years,
I've never been top of the class all the time. -
18:22 - 18:29So now, what you must bear in mind
is that if you haven't succeeded, -
18:29 - 18:32if you haven't always been top of the class,
there's only one reason for this: -
18:32 - 18:38it's because you are a strong candidate for being top
in the school of life. -
18:38 - 18:43So turn the page, and begin a new life.
Thank you.
- Title:
- 5 qualities which make you fail at school but succeed in life - Faysal Hafidi - TEDxCasablanca
- Description:
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Comment se fait-il que les leaders et les personnes qui nous inspirent ne sont pas forcément celles et ceux qui ont réussi à l'école ?
Dans un talk plein d'énergie, Faysal Hafidi nous présente les 5 qualités qui font échouer à l'école mais réussir dans la vie.
- Video Language:
- French
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 19:02